The Oxford Handbook of the Archaeology of the Levant

c. 8000-332 BCE

Edited by Margreet L. Steiner and Ann E. Killebrew

Description

This Handbook aims to serve as a research guide to the archaeology of the Levant, an area situated at the crossroads of the ancient world that linked the eastern Mediterranean, Anatolia, Mesopotamia, and Egypt. The Levant as used here is a historical geographical term referring to a large area which today comprises the modern states of Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, western Syria, and Cyprus, as well as the West Bank, Gaza, and the Sinai.

Unique in its treatment of the entire region, it offers a comprehensive overview and analysis of the current state of the archaeology of the Levant within its larger cultural, historical, and socio-economic contexts. The Handbook also attempts to bridge the modern scholarly and political divide between archaeologists working in this highly contested region. Written by leading international scholars in the field, it focuses chronologically on the Neolithic through Persian periods -- a time span during which the Levant was often in close contact with the imperial powers of Egypt, Anatolia, Assyria, Babylon, and Persia. This volume will serve as an invaluable reference work for those interested in a contextualised archaeological account of this region, beginning with the tenth millennium BCE 'agricultural revolution', until the conquest of Alexander the Great that marked the end of the Persian period.

The Oxford Handbook of the Archaeology of the Levant

c. 8000-332 BCE

Edited by Margreet L. Steiner and Ann E. Killebrew

Table of Contents

List of Figures Introduction, Ann E. Killebrew and Margreet L. SteinerSection 1: Archaeology of the Levant: Background and definitions 1. Historical geography of the ancient Levant, Matthew J. Suriano2. Peoples and languages of the Levant during the Bronze and Iron Ages, Holger Gzella3. History of research, Thomas Davis4. Levantine chronology, Ilan SharonSection 2: The Levant as the crossroads between empires: Egypt, Anatolia, Mesopotamia, and Persia 5. Egypt and the Levant, Gregory D. Mumford6. Anatolia (Hittites) and the Levant, Horst Klengel7. Mesopotamia (Assyrians and Babylonians) and the Levant, Tammi J. Schneider8. Achaemenid Persia and the Levant, Josette ElayiSection 3: The archaeologicalrecord Subsection 1: The Neolithic period 9. Introduction to the Levant during the Neolithic Period, Bill Finlayson10. The northern Levant during the Neolithic period: Damascus and Beyond: Neolithic settlement dynamics in Syria and Lebanon, Peter M. M. G. Akkermans11. The southern Levant (Cisjordan) during the Neolithic period, A. Nigel Goring-Morris and Anna Belfer-Cohen12. The southern Levant (Transjordan) during the Neolithic period, Alison Betts13. Cyprus during the Neolithic period, Joanne ClarkeSubsection 2: The Chalcolithic period 14. Introduction to the Levant during the Chalcolithic Period: Regional Perspectives, Thomas E. Levy15. The northern Levant during the Chalcolithic period: The Lebanese-Syrian Coast, Gassia Artin16. The southern Levant (Cisjordan) during the Chalcolithic period, Yorke M. Rowan17. The southern Levant (Transjordan) during the Chalcolithic period: Jordan (c. 4500-3500 BC), Zeidan A. Kafafi18. Cyprus during the Chalcolithic period, Edgar J. PeltenburgSubsection 3: The Early and Internediate Bronze Ages 19. Introduction to the Levant during the Early Bronze Age, Raphael Greenberg20. The northern Levant (Syria) during the Early Bronze Age, Lisa Cooper21. The northern Levant (Lebanon) during the Early Bronze Age, Hermann Genz22. The southern Levant (Cisjordan) during the Early Bronze Age, Pierre de Miroschedji23. The southern Levant (Transjordan) during the Early Bronze Age, Suzanne Richard24. Cyprus during the Early Bronze Age, Jennifer M. Webb25. The northern Levant during the Intermediate Bronze Age: Altered trajectories, Harvey Weiss26. The southern Levant during the Intermediate Bronze Age, Kay PragSubsection 4: The Middle Bronze Age 27. Introduction to the Levant during the Middle Bronze Age, Aaron A. Burke28. The northern Levant (Syria) during the Middle Bronze Age, Daniele Morandi Bonacossi29. The northern Levant (Lebanon) during the Middle Bronze Age, Hanan Charaf30. The southern Levant (Cisjordan) during the Middle Bronze Age, Susan L. Cohen31. The southern Levant (Transjordan) during the Middle Bronze Age, Stephen J. Bourke32. Cyprus during the Middle Bronze Age, David FrankelSubsection 5: The Late Bronze Age 33. Introduction to the Levant during Late Bronze Age, E. Susan Sherratt34. The northern Levant (Syria) during the Late Bronze Age: Small kingdoms between the supra-regional empires of the international age, Marta Luciani35. The northern Levant (Lebanon) during the Late Bronze Age, Marlies Heinz and Sabina Kulemann-Ossen36. The southern Levant (Cisjordan) during the Late Bronze Age, Nava Panitz-Cohen37. The southern Levant (Transjordan) during the Late Bronze Age, Peter M. Fischer38. Cyprus during the Late Bronze Age, Louise SteelSubsection 6: The Iron Age I period 39. Introduction to the Levant during the Transitional Late Bronze Age/Iron Age I and Iron Age I periods, Ann E. Killebrew40. The northern Levant during the Iron Age I period, Helene Sader41. The southern Levant (Cisjordan) during the Iron Age I period, Ayelet Gilboa42. The southern Levant (Transjordan) during the Iron Age I period, Larry G. Herr43. Cyprus during the Iron Age I period (Late Cypriot IIC IIIA): Settlement Pattern crisis (LC IIC IIIA) to the restructuring (LC IIIB) of its settlement pattern, Maria IacovouSubsection 7: The Iron Age II period 44. Introduction to the Levant during the Iron Age II period, Margreet L. Steiner45. The Aramean states during the Iron Age II-III periods, Stefania Mazzoni46. Phoenicia during the Iron Age II period, Maria Eugenia Aubet47. Philistia during the Iron Age II period, David Ben-Shlomo48. Israel during the Iron Age II period, Ann E. Killebrew49. Judah during the Iron Age II period, James W. Hardin50. Ammon during the Iron Age II period, Randall W. Younker51. Moab during the Iron Age II period, Margreet L. Steiner52. Edom during the Iron Age II period, Piotr Bienkowski53. Cyprus during the Iron Age through the Persian period: From the eleventh century BC to the abolition of the city-kingdoms (c. 300 BC), Maria Iacovou54. The Levant during the Babylonian period, Jeffrey R. Zorn55. The Levant during the Persian period, Gunnar LehmannIndex

The Oxford Handbook of the Archaeology of the Levant

c. 8000-332 BCE

Edited by Margreet L. Steiner and Ann E. Killebrew

Author Information

Margreet L. Steiner is an independent scholar in Leiden, The Netherlands. She has, together with Henk Franken, published the results of the large trench of Kenyon's excavations in Jerusalem. For the past thirty years she has participated in or directed excavations in Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, and the Palestinian Territories. Currently she is co-director of the renewed excavations of tell Abu Sarbut, Jordan. She has published widely on the archaeology of the Levant.

Ann E. Killebrew is an Associate Professor in the Department of Classics and Ancient Mediterranean Studies and Jewish Studies program at the Pennsylvania State University. She has directed or participated in dozens of excavations in Israel, Turkey, and Egypt during the past thirty-five years. Currently she co-directs the Tel Akko Total Archaeology Project in Israel. She is author of numerous publications relating to archaeology of the Levant, including the award-winning book, Biblical Peoples and Ethnicity: An Archaeological Study of Egyptians, Canaanite, Philistines, and Early Israel 1300 - 1100 B.C.E. (2005).